All Discussions Tagged 'Newsletter' - Home Energy Pros2016-12-10T01:25:20Zhttp://homeenergypros.lbl.gov/group/bpi/forum/topic/listForTag?tag=Newsletter&feed=yes&xn_auth=noJune's Stump the Chump: What's Wrong with this Picture?tag:homeenergypros.lbl.gov,2013-06-13:6069565:Topic:1207272013-06-13T21:06:08.925ZMike Kandelhttp://homeenergypros.lbl.gov/profile/MikeKandel
<p><a href="http://www.bpi.org/news_pm_june_2013.aspx" target="_blank">Come check out BPI's monthly newsletter, Performance Matters!</a></p>
<p>The image below was taken by Matt Schwoegler, a thermographer and infrared instructor with the Snell Group. Matt was on location in Vermont, helping to train a weatherization crew from the Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity (CVOEO) which was already working on the home. The room in question was used by the homeowner as a three-season…</p>
<p><a href="http://www.bpi.org/news_pm_june_2013.aspx" target="_blank">Come check out BPI's monthly newsletter, Performance Matters!</a></p>
<p>The image below was taken by Matt Schwoegler, a thermographer and infrared instructor with the Snell Group. Matt was on location in Vermont, helping to train a weatherization crew from the Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity (CVOEO) which was already working on the home. The room in question was used by the homeowner as a three-season porch/bedroom. Matt explains that this portion of the home appeared to be an addition to the original structure, and was likely moved to the home's location where it was connected to the main house.</p>
<p>During the infrared training and building inspection, which was taking place in warm weather conditions, Matt found what appeared to be an insulation level on the wall in this room. While the ceiling appeared to be uninsulated, what was happening with the wall was not as clear.</p>
<p>So, what's wrong with this picture?</p>
<div class="newsArticleImage"><img alt="" src="https://origin.ih.constantcontact.com/fs124/1101130315556/img/736.jpg"/></div> April's Stump the Chump!tag:homeenergypros.lbl.gov,2013-04-25:6069565:Topic:1151852013-04-25T21:23:41.987ZMike Kandelhttp://homeenergypros.lbl.gov/profile/MikeKandel
<p>During a recent evaluation of a newly constructed multifamily building, <b>Jerritt Gluck of <a href="http://www.bondedbuilding.com/">Bonded Building and Engineering</a> in Oyster Bay, NY</b>, encountered a classic case of stack effect, or so he thought.</p>
<p>The developer of the $30 million + multifamily construction project looking for LEED certification was in trouble, so they engaged BB&amp;E to perform an ASTM 779-10 test of the building as part of the LEED certification…</p>
<p>During a recent evaluation of a newly constructed multifamily building, <b>Jerritt Gluck of <a href="http://www.bondedbuilding.com/">Bonded Building and Engineering</a> in Oyster Bay, NY</b>, encountered a classic case of stack effect, or so he thought.</p>
<p>The developer of the $30 million + multifamily construction project looking for LEED certification was in trouble, so they engaged BB&amp;E to perform an ASTM 779-10 test of the building as part of the LEED certification process.</p>
<p>ASTM 779-10 tests are performed on individual apartments with the adjacent apartments open to outdoors. The point of the test is to measure unit inter-connectivity. Blower door tests are performed on all corner apartments plus a random 20 percent of those remaining. If they all pass then it can be assumed the rest of the apartments would also pass. Should any one apartment fail, an additional apartment must be added (per each failure) until at least 90 percent of the tested units pass.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.bpi.org/news_pm_april_2013.aspx#stumper" target="_blank">Click here to read the rest, and see if you can come up with the right answer!</a></p> Can you solve this month's stumper?tag:homeenergypros.lbl.gov,2013-02-21:6069565:Topic:1056882013-02-21T19:06:11.215ZMike Kandelhttp://homeenergypros.lbl.gov/profile/MikeKandel
<p>Here is your chance!</p>
<p>Thanks to <b>Bo Jespersen, President of <a href="http://www.thebreathablehome.com/">The Breathable Home</a> in Manchester, Maine</b> for contributing February's home performance head scratcher.</p>
<p>Bo was stumped after his company was hired to install some spray foam insulation in a second story bedroom side attic.</p>
<p>When Bo arrived, he noticed that the work was exclusively on the north slope of the home, and that the owner had installed three layers of 2"…</p>
<p>Here is your chance!</p>
<p>Thanks to <b>Bo Jespersen, President of <a href="http://www.thebreathablehome.com/">The Breathable Home</a> in Manchester, Maine</b> for contributing February's home performance head scratcher.</p>
<p>Bo was stumped after his company was hired to install some spray foam insulation in a second story bedroom side attic.</p>
<p>When Bo arrived, he noticed that the work was exclusively on the north slope of the home, and that the owner had installed three layers of 2" thick rigid foam in-between the rafters, and applied one-part spray foam along the edges (where some stuffed fiberglass was found as well). A small air channel was left between the top of the foam and the bottom of the roof sheathing. The ridge beam was exposed and required ending the rigid foam to the southern slope to make it air tight.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.bpi.org/news_pm_february_2013.aspx#stumper" target="_blank">Keep reading...</a></p> Check out the January issue of BPI's Performance Matters Newsletter!tag:homeenergypros.lbl.gov,2013-01-24:6069565:Topic:1027882013-01-24T15:01:04.856ZMike Kandelhttp://homeenergypros.lbl.gov/profile/MikeKandel
<p><span class="userContent">In this issue: a letter from BPI CEO Larry Zarker announcing BPI's 20th anniversary; news from BPI and around the industry; Peter Troast explains what home performance can learn from Apple Computers; and of course, a brand new Stump the Chump!</span></p>
<p><span class="userContent"><a href="http://www.bpi.org/news_pm_january_2013.aspx" target="_blank">Click here to check it out!</a></span></p>
<p><span class="userContent">In this issue: a letter from BPI CEO Larry Zarker announcing BPI's 20th anniversary; news from BPI and around the industry; Peter Troast explains what home performance can learn from Apple Computers; and of course, a brand new Stump the Chump!</span></p>
<p><span class="userContent"><a href="http://www.bpi.org/news_pm_january_2013.aspx" target="_blank">Click here to check it out!</a></span></p> BPI's October Stump the Chump!tag:homeenergypros.lbl.gov,2012-10-19:6069565:Topic:967802012-10-19T17:46:38.589ZMike Kandelhttp://homeenergypros.lbl.gov/profile/MikeKandel
<p><em>The following stumper is presented in <a href="http://www.bpi.org/news_pm_october_2012.aspx" target="_blank">BPI's October Performance Matters e-Newsletter.</a></em></p>
<p>This month's stumper comes from a chump who's actually stumped! <b>Ed Revers of <a href="http://www.mtrarchitects.com/">Michell Timperman Ritz Architects</a> in New Albany, Indiana</b> has been scratching his head about this one and is wondering if you can help.</p>
<p>Ed explains that he has been working on a 50 year…</p>
<p><em>The following stumper is presented in <a href="http://www.bpi.org/news_pm_october_2012.aspx" target="_blank">BPI's October Performance Matters e-Newsletter.</a></em></p>
<p>This month's stumper comes from a chump who's actually stumped! <b>Ed Revers of <a href="http://www.mtrarchitects.com/">Michell Timperman Ritz Architects</a> in New Albany, Indiana</b> has been scratching his head about this one and is wondering if you can help.</p>
<p>Ed explains that he has been working on a 50 year old house that has a four ton top-of-the-line Florida Heat pump system, with all the energy saving bells and whistles (hot water de-super heater, four-zone stats on Arzel control board, etc). After 2 years of utility bills, the energy savings are nowhere near what the geothermal manufacturers claim they should be. The new energy bills (gas and electric combined) are the same as the past 20 years, during which an old forced-air conventional gas furnace was used. The mechanical contractor has come out several times to check things and reports that it is working fine. The house was super-insulated when the new geothermal system was made operational. It isn't easy to compare old to new systems equally, because an addition of about 25 percent was added to the house when the new system was installed.</p>
<p>Background: The house is in the Louisville, Kentucky area and is now a 2850 sq. ft. ranch with a basement. Mechanical installation costs exceeded $30K, with four grouted wells at 150' depth each. At the recommendation of the mechanical contractor, the house was zoned because the existing house limited duct work configuration options and R-values weren't equal everywhere. The new system performs well (70 in the summer and 68 in the winter), but the energy savings are disappointing. The weather has actually been pretty mild the past few years too. As a newly accredited BPI Building Analyst, Ed considers the house to be tight and well insulated; although no blower door test or duct efficiency test has been performed to verify this. Gas and electric usage is probably below average for a family of four. Any clue as to what would help lower the utility bills and make the system less expensive to operate?</p> Home Energy Magazine and BPI Launch HVAC-2-HPtag:homeenergypros.lbl.gov,2012-10-08:6069565:Topic:960102012-10-08T19:30:46.478ZMike Kandelhttp://homeenergypros.lbl.gov/profile/MikeKandel
<p><span>Home Energy magazine (HEM) and the Building Performance Institute, Inc. (BPI) are proud to announce the launch of </span><a href="http://www.homeenergy.org/list/topic/nav/hvac2hp?utm_source=HVAC2HP+Fall+2012+E-Newsletter&amp;utm_campaign=HVAC2HP&amp;utm_medium=email">HVAC-2-HP</a><span>, a joint e-newsletter on home performance contracting for the HVAC community.</span></p>
<p><a href="http://www.bpi.org/news_expansion.aspx?selectedID=1148" target="_blank">Click here to continue…</a></p>
<p><span>Home Energy magazine (HEM) and the Building Performance Institute, Inc. (BPI) are proud to announce the launch of </span><a href="http://www.homeenergy.org/list/topic/nav/hvac2hp?utm_source=HVAC2HP+Fall+2012+E-Newsletter&amp;utm_campaign=HVAC2HP&amp;utm_medium=email">HVAC-2-HP</a><span>, a joint e-newsletter on home performance contracting for the HVAC community.</span></p>
<p><a href="http://www.bpi.org/news_expansion.aspx?selectedID=1148" target="_blank">Click here to continue reading this article.</a></p> BPI's April Stump the Chump: What’s Wrong with this Picture?tag:homeenergypros.lbl.gov,2012-04-17:6069565:Topic:822552012-04-17T20:42:45.914ZCierra Mooneyhttp://homeenergypros.lbl.gov/profile/CierraMooney
<p>We know, we know. There’s a lot right with this picture, such as the gorgeous view of Lake Tahoe in the background and the awesome powder for skiing. But from a whole-house-as-a-system perspective, what’s wrong with this picture? What is the owner trying to do, and what would be a better solution?</p>
<p>Thanks to our own <b>Larry Zarker, BPI CEO</b>, for sending in this dandy shot. He offers the following Winston Churchill quote to explain what’s going on here: “<i>You can always trust the…</i></p>
<p>We know, we know. There’s a lot right with this picture, such as the gorgeous view of Lake Tahoe in the background and the awesome powder for skiing. But from a whole-house-as-a-system perspective, what’s wrong with this picture? What is the owner trying to do, and what would be a better solution?</p>
<p>Thanks to our own <b>Larry Zarker, BPI CEO</b>, for sending in this dandy shot. He offers the following Winston Churchill quote to explain what’s going on here: “<i>You can always trust the Americans to get it right, after they have exhausted every other possibility”.</i></p>
<p> </p>
<p><i><a href="http://api.ning.com:80/files/j2iuoAfycFSI-fMuqa3UDIfPPNgEF**0-H*d24CdRa865w1Z8*TKsQBExdTjhEyvZfZaPv9oSkT3ITVBNc4pW7B0**e3shXo/STCapr2012.jpg" target="_self"><img class="align-full" src="http://api.ning.com:80/files/j2iuoAfycFSI-fMuqa3UDIfPPNgEF**0-H*d24CdRa865w1Z8*TKsQBExdTjhEyvZfZaPv9oSkT3ITVBNc4pW7B0**e3shXo/STCapr2012.jpg" width="471"/></a></i></p>
<p><i>Think you know what the problem is, as well as the solution? Send it to us at <a href="mailto:lmcdowell@bpi.org">lmcdowell@bpi.org.</a></i></p>
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